Wednesday, October 14, 2009

#118) J.C. MARTIN

J.C. Martin was acquired by the New York Mets as the player to be named later in the Ken Boyer trade to the Chicago White Sox. Martin joined the Mets to start the 1968 season. Primarily filling the role of third catcher (behind Jerry Grote and Duffy Dyer) he played two years in New York. J.C. was a member of the 1969 World Champion Miracle Mets. His bunt in game four of the World Series proved to be a game winner. The Baltimore Orioles were deadlocked with the Mets at 1-1 in the game at Shea Stadium. Martin came to bat as a pinch-hitter for pitcher, Tom Seaver in the bottom of the 10th inning. Rod Gaspar was on second base representing the winning run. J.C. bunted and Orioles pitcher Pete Richert fielded the ball. While Martin was running to first base, Richert's throw struck him on the arm. The errant throw allowed Gaspar to score from second base and give the Mets the victory 2-1.

Replays later showed that Martin was running inside the baseline and therefore could have been called out for interference. The umpires ruled that he was not intentionally interfering with the play and upheld their original call of safe. As a result of this play the "running lane" that extends halfway down the first base line to the bag was added to all professional ball parks. A runner can be running inside this lane and hit by the ball without interference being called.

J.C. Martin signed his card in the set, adding a great "1969 World Series Champion" inscription, from an autograph request mailed to his home on November 30, 2008.

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PROJECT STATUS

Current Count of 712 of 791 players.

90.0% Complete

( 7 -Special Moment cards)

Project started in October 2008.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The New York Mets and all their fans bid farewell to a major part of their history at the close of the 2008 baseball season. Shea Stadium had been our summer home for 45 years. So many memories were built there by the 790 players that appeared in a game for the Mets during that time. In celebration of that I created a set of handmade cards featuring each one of these men. My design was done in such a way as to allow an autograph to be included. I am now in the process of having each one signed by those players. This blog will feature the cards as I get them completed. I hope you enjoy following my progress and reliving the careers of these great men that will always be our Mets.

ABOUT ME

I am a lifelong New York Mets fan that grew up in the midwest. I have followed the club and it's rich array of characters throughout the years. Perhaps the most special of which are the "one game" appearances. These men each have a terrific story and honor the legacy of the great Archibald "Moonlight" Graham.
As an autograph collector of the Mets team I will be posting my successes here as well. The focus of my collection is to add a signed baseball card for each man to appear in a game for the Mets. I will be posting examples of these here.